John Kerry urges press freedoms for Ethiopia

US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Ethiopia on Thursday to allow greater freedoms for civil society and journalists, expressing concern for a group of bloggers and journalists arrested last week....click here to read more

Protests Grow Over Addis Ababa's Expansion

Addis Ababa is growing fast and set to expand further, pitting the government against Oromo activists, seeking to protect their rights...click here to read more...

Ethiopia charges nine bloggers, journalists with inciting violence

(Reuters) - Ethiopia has charged six bloggers and three journalists with attempting to incite violence, their supporters said on Monday, prompting accusations from rights groups that the government is cracking down on its critics...click here to read more

The NYU professor and best-selling author makes his case for a radical rethinking of approaches to global development.

Click here to watch the video
 

Amnesty International: Ethiopia: Opposition Leaders Denied Medical Treatment (Ob. Bekele Gerba and Ob. Olbana Lelisa)

Olbana Lelisa and Bekele Gerba are being denied medical treatment. The two men, political opposition leaders and prisoners of conscience, are reported to be ill in Kaliti prison, Ethiopia. Olbana Lelisa’s friends believe his condition may be life-threatening ..read more

Inside and outside the American embassy compound in Ethiopia: my summer at USAID

From the outside, the American Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, looks just like you would imagine. A high wall surrounds the complex and a series of gates and barriers mark the main entrance. All that’s visible behind the fortifications are the top few floors of a plain, government-style building. Outside, teenage boys herd groups of sheep through the streets towards the informal livestock markets in the center of town. Blue minibuses – carrying twice as many passengers as seats – pass by in all directions, weaving their way around the sheep. A few salesmen push handcarts laden with soaps, candy, cigarettes and SIM cards through the street, avoiding both the sheep and the minibuses as they go. click here to read more

Ethiopia’s Opportunity: A New Day Beckons – OpEd

By: Graham Peebles September 5, 2012

The death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, announced on 22nd August after his mysterious two-month disappearance, presents a tremendous opportunity to Ethiopia. Let a new day dawn for the people, one filled with hope and fundamental change, where human rights and justice are respected, where freedom is encouraged and cultivated in all areas and where fear is banished to the pas ....Reade more

U.S. aid to Ethiopia helping neither us nor Ethiopians

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Death of Ethiopian Leader Meles Brings ‘Opportunity for Peace’

WASHINGTON, Aug 22 2012 (IPS) - Following Monday’s announcement of the death of long-time Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian civil society leaders and Western rights groups are characterising the turn of events as an opportunity to heal decades of increasingly stark sectarianism....read more...

Ethiopian Succession Battle May Test Stability of Key U.S. Ally

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s death may cause a succession battle that could test the stability of one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies and a key ally in the U.S.’s war against al-Qaeda.
The 57-year-old premier died Aug. 20 from an infection after recuperating at a hospital in an undisclosed location from an unspecified illness. Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is serving as acting prime minister...........read more...

Ethiopia After Meles

The international community, particularly Ethiopia’s core
allies, the U.S., UK and European Union (EU), should accordingly
seek to play a significant role in preparing for
and shaping the transition, by:
 tying political, military and development assistance to
the opening of political space and an end to repressive
measures;
 encouraging the post-Meles leadership to produce a clear
roadmap, including transparent mechanisms within the
TPLF and the EPRDF for apportioning the party and
Front power Meles held and within parliament to lead
to an all-inclusive, peaceful transition, resulting in free
and fair elections within a fixed time; and....read more

Ethiopian PM death 'opportunity' for change: rights groups

ASHINGTON, Aug 22 2012 (IPS) - Following Monday’s announcement of the death of long-time Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian civil society leaders and Western rights groups are characterising the turn of events as an opportunity to heal decades of increasingly stark sectarianism...read more...

መተማመን አብሮ መስራትን ያጠናክራል

የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ  የህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ  አገዛዝ ካንገሸገሸው  ሰንብቷል። ለዚህም የ1997 ብሄራዊ ምርጫ ውጤት በቂ ምስክር ነው።ድምጹን ተነጥቆ ከያኔ ጀምሮ አፉ ተለጉሞና ነጻነቱን አጥቶ ሲኖር ከርሞ ዛሬ ግን ከምንጊዜውም ይበልጥ ከሰሜን አስከ ደቡብ፤ ከምስራቅ እስክ ምዕራብ፤መሃልን ጨምሮ ራሱ የህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ የጻፈውን “ህገ-መንግስት” መሰረት በማድርግ የመብት ጥያቄዎችን እያነሳ በሰላማዊ መንገድ የአሻፈረኝነትንና የበቃኝን ጩሀቱን እያሰማ ነው። ለዚህ ሰላማዊ ለሆነው የህብረተሰቡ የመብት ጥያቄ ግን ትክክለኛና አግባብ ያለው መልስ እንደመስጠት ፈንታ አንባገነናዊው የህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ መንግስት የሃይል እርምጃ በመውሰድ የንጹሃን ዜጎችን ደም እያፈሰሰ ነው።read more

Supporting Stability, Abetting Repression

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA — Next time I travel to Ethiopia, I may be arrested as a terrorist. Why? Because I have published articles about Ethiopian politics. Supporting Stability, Abetting Repression

የምንፈልገውን ለውጥ ለማምጣት (ባሕር ከማል)

“ለውጥ “ የሚባለውን ቃል ስንሰማ ወዲያውኑ በአዕምሮአችን ውስጥ የሚቀረፀው ጥሩነቱ ብቻ ነው። መጥፎ ውጤት የሚያስከትል ለውጥ መኖሩን ባንዘነጋም እምብዛም ትኩረታችንን አይስብም። የለውጥ ውጤት መቶ በመቶ ጥሩ ይሆናል ብሎ መገመት ባይቻልም በምኞት ደረጃ ግን ሁሉም የሚመኘው ጥሩውን ነው። አንዳንዴ ግን ምናባቱ ከዚህ የባሰ አይመጣም ይባላል።ይህ ከጭንቀትና ነባሩን ሁኔታ ለመቋቋም በማይቻልበት ደረጃ ላይ ሲደረስ ከብሶት የሚመነጭ እንጂ ምን ጊዜም የባሰ ሊመጣ እንደሚችል ቀደም ብሎ መገመቱ አይከፋም። ለጥሩ ውጤት ይበልጥ እንድንዘጋጅ ያደርገናልና።

The decision is yours (EMF)

A form of government in which one person or an oligarchy possesses absolute power without effective constitutional checks is a short definition of dictatorship. Modern dictators usually use force or fraudulent elections to gain power and then keep it through intimidation, terror, suppression of civil liberties, and control of the mass media...read more..

Ethiopian media gagged by anti-terror laws (The Bureau of investigation journal)

Many independent publications were shut down and 13 editors imprisoned. Today most of the media in Ethiopia is state owned. Even the international media are not immune to political interference...read more..

A tightening noose (The Economist)

Take the case of Eskinder Nega, an Ethiopian journalist who has been imprisoned on anti-terrorism charges for his criticism of the government following the Arab uprisings. Mr Nega and his wife, Serkalim Fasil, were jailed for 17 months for their reporting following Ethiopia's disputed 2005 elections, in which the government arrested thousands of students and opposition supporters and was responsible for at least some of the post-election violence. The Negas' newspapers were among dozens later closed by the government...read more..

The compass fails (The Economist)

When outsiders do bring up such issues, Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s prime minister, responds tartly that, with famine again stalking the Horn of Africa, the right of people to food, shelter, a job and indeed to life itself depends on the stability of the state. To challenge this is sabotage. ..read more.

WikiLeaks - Privatization or Monopolization by Al Amoudi in Ethiopia ? (Ethiomedia)

Click here to read it